West Liberty University will soon be moving its Downtown Center to the former home of the Community Foundation for the Ohio Valley at 1310 Market St., and the CFOV has settled in its new home at 1226 Chapline St.
CFOV: A PLACE OF ITS OWN
“Finding a building we could call our own has been a goal of the Community Foundation’s strategic plan for a while now,” said Susie Nelson, CFOV executive director. “We had several things we wanted in a building including room to grow, a downtown location and handicapped accessibility. This building checks all of those boxes.”
While an open house is set for 4-7 p.m. Thursday, Sept. 26, the CFOV has been in its new location for almost two months.
“Thanks to the leadership of the CFOV board of directors, we are now settled into this wonderful building for the long term. We are grateful to Vic Greco and Jason Smith of the Mills Group, who walked us through every step of the process. At one point, we thought we weren’t going to be able to put an elevator in the building — an important item for handicapped accessibility, even to the first floor. Vic and Jason reworked the design to make it possible.
“We also owe gratitude to Mayor Glenn Elliott, who allowed us to maintain rental space in his building at 1310 Market St. until our renovations were complete,” Nelson added.
The property at 1226 Chapline St. previously was home to the Natural Gas Company of West Virginia from around 1901 until its move to 44 16th St. in the 1960s. The law firm of Bachman Hess Bachmann & Garden had owned the building since the 1960s, and two attorneys still have offices on the second floor.
WLU: BIGGER AND BETTER
The WLU Downtown Center has been operating on the first floor at 1100 Main since January 2018.
It is home to the WLU Foundation, WLU’s broadcasting platform known as Topper Station and other community outreach. It also acts as an off-campus site for prospective students and transfer students to visit and pick up enrollment information.
“Our new location is much larger and is a more appropriate space for all we do. For example, we’ll have our own boardroom for foundation meetings and other amenities like a kitchenette. We will also have additional space to allow Topper Station its own studio,” said Angie Zambito Hill, executive director of WLU’s Foundation. “It’s also a better space for community events that we are planning.”
“This new space offers a more dynamic space that works well with all we do, and it continues our support of the ongoing revitalization evident in downtown Wheeling,” said Dr. Stephen Greiner, WLU president.
The new location is in a building more than 100 years old that formerly housed the Wheeling Area Chamber of Commerce and Crone’s men’s clothing store, as well as the CFOV. Perry and Associates are now located on the third floor of the building.
The Wheeling Chamber moved to an office on the second floor at 1100 Main in 2017 — the same building where WLU is moving from this week. There is no word on what will replace WLU.
• After nearly 38 years as reporter, bureau chief, lifestyles editor and managing editor at The Times Leader, and design editor at The Intelligencer and Wheeling News-Register, Phyllis Sigal has joined Weelunk as managing editor. She lives in Wheeling with her husband Bruce Wheeler. Along with their two children, son-in-law and two grandchildren, food, wine, travel, theater and music are close to their hearts.